By Lexi MooreIn December, Hills-Beaver Creek Mock Trial coach Glenda Kuehl began preparing her team of students for competition.This year 17 students signed up to participate in the event, giving Kuehl the option to enter two teams in the competition.For the second year, Kuehl will work with South Dakota assistant state’s attorney Randy Sample.He drives to Hills on Wednesday mornings to help the students prepare their case for the upcoming competitions.He offers the students advice, drawing on his years of experience in the law field."There is a really good group here," Sample said. "Minnesota is lucky to have a State Bar Association that will support Mock Trial. South Dakota does not."The Minnesota High School Mock Trial Program helps students gain a practical understanding of the way the American legal system functions.It encourages students to exercise their critical thinking and teamwork skills by analyzing a fictional case, reasoning one side, making an oral presentation for their side and engaging in extemporaneous argument.Teams with 8-14 members compete against other teams in their region at two local trials held in local courthouses beginning in January.For the first two events, teams compete in local courthouses against other teams in their region. Each team argues both sides of the case.H-BC’s first regional competition will be Jan. 30.Competing against H-BC on a regional level are teams from the following school districts: Canby, Cedar Mountain, Jackson, Lakeview, Lincoln, Luverne, Martin County West, Springfield and Worthington.The top regional teams then participate in playoff rounds. The 12 regional winners advance to a state competition held in March in Rochester.During the trials, local judges and attorneys evaluate students’ performances.The students are judged on their analysis and presentation skills, not on whether they win the legal case.The Minnesota State Bar Association gives teams a new case each year along with a list of resources which can be used to research the case details.2006 Case Overview Statement of FactsThis case is a civil action filed by Shannon Spain against Linn Anderson.Spain played for Pleasantville High School and Anderson played for the Centreville High School team in a semifinal playoff game in May 2004.Spain was injured when Anderson made a play for the ball. Spain alleges that she suffered severe back injuries as a result of the incident.Generally, a player engaged in sports assumes the risk of injury from any contact normally associated with the play of that game.However, in this case, Spain alleges that Anderson was negligent because Anderson’s contact was outside the rules of the game and that Anderson used force which was excessive and beyond the amount of force that a reasonable player would have used under the circumstances.Spain also alleges that the contact constitutes battery.For the purposes of this case, the FIFA "Laws of the Game" apply and are available on the FIFA.com Web site.Anderson asserts that her actions were within the acceptable bounds of the game, that the force used was not excessive and that the contact was legal within the rules of the game.Anderson asserts the defenses of assumption of the risk and contributory negligence.
